AP BIOLOGY 2019 SUMMER READING OPTIONS – Full Length Book

***OTHER SUMMER WORK WILL BE POSTED AUGUST 1st – It is best to complete it right before school resumes. So look back at the site after August 1st, and I will email all of you!***

Assignment & Timeline: Choose ONE of the four books described below. Choose the book that you find most interesting! We will do some group and class-wide activities in the first couple days of class based upon your reading of ONE of the following non-fiction options. This will ‘count’ as your summer ‘choice read’, as well.

We will work with these in the first days of school – so I advise three things:

1] ENJOY IT!  Biology-related topics are fascinating – allow yourself to just be curious and have fun.

2] GET IT READ OVER THE SUMMER With college applications coming due the last thing you need to be dealing with is a long-form biology read before the first day of school!!!

3] Briefly ANNOTATE  Since there will be downtime between your reading and our work with the books I strongly advise you to annotate (perhaps at the close of every chapter – create a brief chapter summary) so you can participate fully with your group. Your annotations can take any form as you read {margin notes, sticky notes underlining/highlighting}, figure out what works best for you!

A PLANET OF VIRUSES, 2nd Edition The past year has been one of viral panic—panic about viruses, that is. Through headlines, public health warnings, and at least one homemade hazmat suit, we were reminded of the powerful force of viruses. They are the smallest living things known to science, yet they can hold the entire planet in their sway. A Planet of Viruses is Carl Zimmer’s eye-opening look at the hidden world of viruses. Zimmer, the popular science writer and author of National Geographic’s award-winning blog The Loom, has updated this edition to include the stories of new outbreaks, such as Ebola, MERS, and chikungunya virus; new scientific discoveries, such as a hundred-million-year-old virus that infected the common ancestor of armadillos, elephants, and humans; and new findings that show why climate change may lead to even deadlier outbreaks. Zimmer’s lucid explanations and fascinating stories demonstrate how deeply humans and viruses are intertwined. Viruses helped give rise to the first life-forms, are responsible for many of our most devastating diseases, and will continue to control our fate for centuries. Thoroughly readable, and as reassuring as it is frightening, A Planet of Viruses is a fascinating tour of a formidable hidden world. ~ Amazon review

GUT: the inside story of our body’s most under-rated organ In this updated edition of a worldwide bestseller, Giulia Enders reveals the secrets and science of the digestive system—including new research on the connection between the gut and the brain.

For too long, the gut has been the body’s most ignored and least appreciated organ. But it does more than just dirty work; our gut is at the core of who we are. With quirky charm, science star and medical doctor Giulia Enders explains the gut’s magic, answering questions like: Why does acid reflux happen? What’s really up with gluten and lactose intolerance? How does the gut affect obesity and mood? A new section on the brain-gut axis dives into groundbreaking discoveries of psycho biotics – microbes with psychological effects that can influence conditions like depression and even stress.

Aided with cheerful illustrations by Enders’s sister Jill, this beguiling manifesto will make you finally listen to those butterflies in your stomach: they’re trying to tell you something important.

SPILLOVER The next big human pandemic―the next disease cataclysm, perhaps on the scale of AIDS or the 1918 influenza―is likely to be caused by a new virus coming to humans from wildlife. Experts call such an event “spillover” and they warn us to brace ourselves. David Quammen has tracked this subject from the jungles of Central Africa, the rooftops of Bangladesh, and the caves of southern China to the laboratories where researchers work in space suits to study lethal viruses. He illuminates the dynamics of Ebola, SARS, bird flu, Lyme disease, and other emerging threats and tells the story of AIDS and its origins as it has never before been told. Spillover reads like a mystery tale, full of mayhem and clues and questions. When the Next Big One arrives, what will it look like? From which innocent host animal will it emerge? Will we be ready? ~Amazon review

SURVIVAL OF THE SICKEST Was diabetes evolution's response to the last Ice Age? Did a deadly genetic disease help our ancestors survive the bubonic plagues of Europe? Will a visit to the tanning salon help lower your cholesterol? Why do we age? Why are some people immune to HIV? Can your genes be turned on -- or off?

Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.

Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. When the option is a long life with a disease or a short one without it, evolution opts for disease almost every time.

Everything from the climate our ancestors lived in to the crops they planted and ate to their beverage of choice can be seen in our genetic inheritance. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives.

Survival of the Sickest is filled with fascinating insights and cutting-edge research, presented in a way that is both accessible and utterly absorbing. This is a book about the interconnectedness of all life on earth -- and, especially, what that means for us. ~ Amazon review